BP: Well could be contained if tests, beginning today, show new cap works

A BP official said tests today will decide whether the new container cap can withstand the well's pressure, and if it can, the well will be completely shut off for the first time in nearly three months.

"We will shut in the well" if tests indicate the tigher-fihging cap, installed Monday, will work, BP senior vice president Kent Wells told reporters in a Tuesday morning technical briefing.

Wells said the tests, which were supposed to have begun mid-day but were delayed because of extra checks, will begin late Tuesday.

"This is a very important test and we want to be sure we have everything lined up," he said in an afternoon briefing. The tests will take between six and 48 hours and scientists will monitor well pressure at "very minute" intervals. During that time, oil will continue leaking as it's done since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded April 20 and blew out the well.

If the pressure is not high, Wells said that could indicate the well lacks integrity and could be leaking elsewhere. In that event, he said the cap won't be shut and surface vessels connected to the blowout preventer, such as the Q4000 and the giant Helix Protector, will continue collecting oil.

"I couldn't be prouder of the team that put on the sealing cap," Wells said, but added "the job's not over yet ... this is not something that's simple."

Wells said work continues on the two relief wells, which unlike the cap, are intended to be the well's permanent plug. He said the first one, now 17,840 below sea level, could begin injecting heavy mud and concrete to seal the Macondo well by the end of July.

The government estimates that the well, leaking 1.5 million to 2.5 million gallons of oil a day, has cumulatively spewed into the Gulf between 88 million and 174 million gallons of oil.

Meanwhile, U.S. Coast Guard officials say test results confirmed that tar balls found on a second Texas beach in Galveston were from the massive Gulf oil spill, reports the Associated Press, noting tar balls found July 5 at a beach east of Bolivar Peninsula also came from the same disaster.

The Obama administration said Tuesday it sent BP and other responsible parties a fourth bill for $100 million to cover the spill's cleanup costs, reports the Dow Jones Newswires. It said in a statement that it's collected $122 million so far from its three prior bills.

On Monday, the administration issued a revised moratorium on deep-sea offshore drilling, reportsUSA TODAY colleague Rick Jervis. Unlike the previous one, which was struck down in federal court, the new one isn't based on water depth and applies to any deep-water floating facility with drilling activities. It will last through Nov. 30.

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